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In the geopolitical competition between global powers, it is hard to differentiate democracies from dictatorships. The Americans, the supposed global torchbearers of democracy, have repeatedly intervened in other countries to remove democratic governments and install their own puppet rulers. In this they are no different to the totalitarian Soviet Union that in its heyday dotted the world with its own puppet communist regimes, or the modern-day China trying to ‘buy’ influence abroad. By the same token, nor is the democratic India’s desire to maintain its absolute hegemony in South Asia out of place.

This is the central thesis of ‘How They Rule the World: The 22 Secret Strategies of Global Power’, a new book by Pedro Baños, a Spanish army colonel and an ex-member of the EU’s counter-intelligence corps. With the help of his knowledge gained working for various security organizations, Baños says powerful democracies and dictatorships alike use one or many of the same 22 strategies to get a leg-up on their competitors. He argues that on the global stage there are basically two types of countries: “the dominant” and “the dominated”. The first group “exerts control on a regional or global scale” while the second group is “controlled… in various ways—militarily, economically, culturally or technologically”. As the big powers try to get even more powerful, to avoid being devoured by this rivalry, the comparably smaller powers have no option but to fall in behind one of the big powers, or to join an alliance of like-minded countries.

But what are the strategies the big powers use to remain ahead of the pack? They may use the strategy of deterrence (‘winning without fighting’) or the strategy of encirclement (‘outmaneuvering adversaries’). Or they may feign and conceal (‘mastering deception’) or sow seeds of discord (‘defeating enemy from within’). The bottom-line is that these powers have the military and economic strength to compel smaller powers to do their bidding.

Baños says every geopolitical decision, from forging alliances to declarations of war to imposing economic sanctions, has an ulterior motive. “Concepts such as ‘human rights’ may be referred to, but countries will always act out of self interest.” What is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is highly subjective in international relations, he says, and wants us to know of how we are being systematically manipulated. The author’s end-goal, however utopian the idea, is to build an international order “that strives for and prioritizes human security over national security.”

It’s an interesting, breezy read for anyone interested in big power politics. But the book is also a little disorganized. The 22 strategies comprise just one of the four parts of the book and they don’t always mesh well with the other three parts, each of which analyzes this politics through its own framework. A useful primer on the subject though.

Q. How would you describe yourself in three words?

A. Emotional, observant, and a good listener.

Q. A Nepali actor you want to work opposite to?

A. Anmol KC.

Q. Who inspires you the most?

A. My mother.

Q. What is that one thing you enjoy the most about your profession?

A. Traveling.

Q. What is your superpower?

A. My family’s support.

Q. Your favorite getaway?

A. Greece.

Q. If you had only one day to live, what would you do?

A. Spend the whole day with my family.

Q. If you could wish for anything, what would it be?

A. To be able to read people’s minds.

Q. Which is the project you are proudest to be a part of so far?

A. Pashupati Prasad.

Q. If you were not in the entertainment industry, which industry would you be in?

A. Banking.

 To be honest, we were a little apprehensive about trying a restaurant in Ravibhawan, a place not at all known as an ‘eat out’ zone. But the Perfect Foodland at the Ravibhawan Height managed to prove us wrong with its terrific food, service and ambience. Perfect is a multi-cuisine restaurant housed in a two-storey modern building. The interiors are elegant, pleasing, and again perfect while you relish the food.

There are multiple seating arrangements, a separate family room to host small parties and surprisingly, also a small stage where local artists do acoustic sessions on weekends. Besides the chef’s specials, we wholeheart­edly recommend the whole fish. Oh my, the sauce on that dish is finger-licking good!

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:
- Chicken Ala Que
- Dragon Chicken
- Crispy Prawn
Opening hours: 7:30 am to 10 pm
Location: Ravibhawan
Cards: Accepted
Meal for 2: Rs 2,000
Reservations: 014672076

Ishan Pariyar’s painting exhibition “Reminiscences” at Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babarmahal, highlights the endurance of historical monuments in the fleeting materialistic world.

The exhibition brings together the paintings, each of which represents a certain deity and its everlasting property. Pariyar also decries our indifferent attitude towards the smuggled, damaged and stolen artifacts of great cultural and historical value.

The acrylic paintings have a boat as a common object to represent the voyage of life. Similarly, each artifact has been placed creatively to show its historical importance.

The exhibition will serve those with keen interest in history, culture, religion and a taste for authentic yet modern
artwork.

Each canvas consists of religious sculptures as its basis, supported by earthy materials like sand, pebbles, worn-out boats, waves and tides. Sketch representations of the paintings are also displayed. An added twist is that the entire oeuvre consists of subtle green and blue hues.

The exhibition ends on July 9

Nepali cable TV distributors are being disingenuous when they say end customers will be saddled with extra charges if the federal parliament passes a recently registered Advertisement Bill. The bill bars out-of-country paid TV channels from broadcasting foreign advertisements. As getting clean feed from paid international TV channels will cost them more, the cable operators argue, they will have no option but to pass on the added cost to their viewers. But then Nepali cable TV viewers are already paying high surcharges, which should more than make up for the puny increase in cable distributors’ costs.

With the passage of the bill, foreign ads on cable channels will be replaced by Nepali ones, to the benefit of many constituencies in the country. Nepali advertisers will be buoyant as all TV ads for foreign products will have to be made in Nepal. Nepali ads will also have more slots on international channels. The Nepali ad industry is projected to grow by at least 20 percent as a result. After all, why should foreign products get free advertisements on Nepali TV? Not only does it lead to a loss of market for Nepali advertisers, it also encourages Nepalis to pick foreign advertised products over domestic unadvertised ones, to the determent of the already struggling economy.

While the Nepali ad industry is still in its infancy, its revenues continue to shrink as more and more people move online for news and entertainment. The problem is that there isn’t much money in online advertising. At the same time, with the economy facing a severe liquidity crunch, Nepali producers and industries are cutting back on their advertisement budgets for newspapers and television. On the other hand, the multinationals operating in Nepal have not had to spend a single rupee as their ads are already transmitted through pay TV for free.

The clean feed policy is a boon for all Nepali content creators. The quality of our advertisements will improve as more money enters the industry. Local products will be more competitive. The stagnant Nepali media will see a fresh inflow of cash. Cable operators have no case.

After a series of career speedbumps, Shahid Kapoor is back on the highway riding his Royal Enfield Classic in and as ‘Kabir Singh’. And fueling Shahid’s Enfield is Telugu director Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who has secured this Bollywood remake for his first and only film ‘Arjun Reddy’. The ‘A’ rated movie revolves around its lead, Kabir Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a medical surgeon who follows a very strict diet plan: two loaves of toxic male ego for breakfast, three slices of anger issues for lunch, and two shots of drug abuse for dinner. And Kabir Singh is a 172-minute outcome of that diet.

In essence, Kabir Singh is a fifth year medical school ‘Harami’ who doubles as a teacher for the Delhi Institute of Medical Sciences. The film tries to portray Kabir as a genius macho chick magnet. But he actually comes off as this shallow, deplorable ego maniac who’s got zero respect for others. After a rough altercation with the college dean, he decides to leave the college, until he meets Preeti (Kiara Advani), a first year student. Like a typical Bollywood Romeo, he falls in love at first glance and instantly decides, yes, decides, that Preeti is his, and his only.

He then threatens every boy in the college not to even lay an eye on her. I was taken back by the simplicity and cuteness of Preeti, maybe even remotely crushing, until she surrendered to the whims of Kabir Singh like an ‘obedient loyal wife’. She never speaks out—not even when he randomly kisses her in front of the school, not when he makes her skip classes or takes her out to dates or even when he forces her to live with him. But I guess at some point the Stockholm syndrome kicks in and they’re in love.

Yet soon, their romance takes a wrong turn when Preeti’s father rejects their romantic affair and stresses that Preeti must marry a Sikh. Kabir, obviously, cannot handle the rejection and pours his anger on Preeti, emphasizing how she’s nobody in front of him, and even slaps her—and yet she comes back to him. I do not know what is more disgusting: the character of Kabir Singh or the fact that Preeti gives in so easily to his plastic machismo? 

Kabir Singh then goes into a self-destructive spiral to cope with the heartbreak. From treating patients under the influence of chemical substances to pulling out a knife when a women changes her mind about having sex with him, Kabir brings out the demon in him. And that is pretty much the whole movie, the life of Kabir that follows his big heartbreak with Preeti.

I can’t help but appreciate Shahid Kapoor’s acting in this film. Kabir Singh is easily one of his best roles. Nobody else I can imagine could have carried it off better. Kiara didn’t really get to experiment much in terms of acting but she’s graceful when she needs to and persuasively emotional.

A Holi scene stood out for me. There’s a party at the college, and Preeti doesn’t show up, greatly worrying Kabir. “What are you saying? Who is that guy,”—someone has done something terrible to his girl—Kabir shouts on his phone as the camera pans to him on his Royal Enfield, furious, as people around watch in awe, riding towards the girls’ hostel as the movie’s best soundtrack is playing in the background. The cinematographer, actor and the sound director are in perfect symphony.

Kabir Singh, as a piece of cinema, is a solid entertainer. You will enjoy the ace acting of Kapoor, the melodious voice of Arijit Singh and the action sequences. The only problem with the movie is the blatant normalization and glorification of a ‘manly’ (actually sick) character like Kabir Singh. Movies like Kabir Singh should exist though; they stand a testament to the fact that our society is still full of people who idealize the Kabirs of this world. But ‘Kabir Singh’ does exactly one thing perfectly: it constantly reminds you of the original movie, frame to frame, dialogue to dialogue.

Who should watch it?

An ‘A’ rated film, it’s a no-no for children. For the rest, watch the movie, no problem. It is a solid entertainer. But pray, resist from glorifying the character of Kabir Singh as you get caught up in red-in-tooth-and-claw cinematic spectacle.

Kabir Singh

Run Time: 2h 52 m

Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Genre: Action

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Arjan Bajwa

3 stars

 In the autumn of 1612, in the courts of Lancaster (a county town of Lancashire) in England, 12 people were tried for witchcraft and hav­ing familiar spirits—a demon that appears to obey a witch, usually in the form of an animal. This was perhaps the most notorious witch trial of the 17th century where only one was found not guilty. One died in custody, and the rest were hung. What went on to become the legend of the Pendle witches is a dark tale of execution that only makes up just two percent of all the people, mostly women, executed over three centu­ries in England.

Set against the backdrop of this Pendle witch trials, ‘The Famil­iars’ is Stacey Hall’s debut novel in which many characters are based on real people. Fleetwood Shut­tleworth, mistress of Gawthorpe Hall, has had three miscarriages and she’s pregnant for the fourth time. She has inadvertently read a letter from her doctor, addressed to her husband, Richard, which says she might not survive childbirth. And so she hires a midwife, Alice Gray, to ensure she and her baby both live.

Alice, though having a “low social status”, is a gifted midwife who has learnt from her mother all about delivering a baby. She believes she can safely deliver the child and keep the mother out of harm’s way as well. But her use of different herbs and potions to do so is seen as malev­olent magic and Alice is accused of practicing witchcraft and taken into custody. By then, Fleetwood and Alice have formed a bond and are like sisters and Fleetwood vows to save Alice from the fate that awaits her.

Though many of the characters in The Familiars are historical figures, Halls goes beyond a fictional retelling of the legend of the Pendle witches. Through Fleetwood and Alice, she explores what it means to be women and how they are capable of the impossible when their love and limits are tested. Historical fiction can be tricky to get right especially as you have to make sure the facts aren’t distorted while keeping things exciting, and this is where Halls shines. She manages to provide an engaging viewpoint through her protagonist Fleetwood and keeps you intrigued and at the edge of your seat till the very end.

Book: The Familiars

Genre: Historical Fiction

Author: Stacey Hall

Publisher: Zaffre

Published: February 2019

Language: English

Pages: 420, Paperback

 It is incredible to see the all-pow­erful federal government of KP Oli stumble so badly—and on so many fronts. The government’s reluctance to devolve powers to the provincial and local levels has resulted in a lot of bad blood between the three tiers of government, not a healthy sign for an infant federal state. Even the chief ministers from the PM’s own party are rebelling against what they see as Singhadurbar’s attempts to increase its powers at their expense.

The Oli government had to beat a shameful retreat from the Guthi bill, prepared without consulting key stakeholders. The prime minister’s recent Europe trip also proved to be a disastrous folly, a perfect example of how not to ‘diversify’ away from India and China: unlike what the prime minister seems to believe, the number of countries he visits cannot be the yardstick of a successful diver­sification policy.

Economically, too, the country is in a shambles. There is a lopsided concentration of resourc­es, including the annual budget, at the center. The expected economic growth has failed to materialize. The partial health of the economy is owing to the good monsoon of the past few years, and to the continuous inflow of remittances. Otherwise, the banks are over-leveraged and short of cash; a real estate bubble is building; the foreign account deficit is reaching a troubling level; and the Nepali rupee is vulnerable to the unpredictable global economy.

There are many other shortcom­ings of the Oli government. But he has also done some good. The land­mark trade and transit protocol has been signed with China; relations with India have been normalized; countless regulations to implement federalism have been passed; and the separatist group of CK Raut has been brought into the national main­stream.

Yet the strong federal government could have done so much more. It is hobbled by corruption, intra-par­ty feuds, and the prime minister’s self-serving working style. What’s more, this government with an over­whelming public mandate is a threat to liberal values. The eroding legit­imacy of the two-third Oli govern­ment bodes ill for the health of the Nepali democracy.